From the Pick and Shovel June/July 2014 issue
By Sarah Reijonen
For the GPAA
If you want to prospect in Michigan, you had better read the fine print.
You can pan for gold in Michigan.
You can sluice for gold in Michigan.
But, your sluice cannot exceed 52 inches long, 12 inches wide and 6.5 inches deep. Oh, and you have to identify a specific 300-foot area where you will operate your sluice box. Also, you have to obtain a $50 permit through the Department of Environmental Quality. If you decide you want to move your sluice box, you must apply for a new permit. One more thing, you can only sluice for two months out of the year — July and August.
Last stipulation, I promise: You can only keep one-half troy ounce of gold per year (approximately .55 ounce).
Never fear, the 2009 Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) gold prospecting press release, which updated regulations to allow prospecting on state land, stated that half an ounce is "much more than enough to pay for the cost of buying equipment, maps and other resources needed for a gold-panning hobby."
Gold Prospectors Association of America Michigan Claims Director Nick Straffon says no, that's not enough. In fact, he has had enough of all the nonsensical rules, he said.
That's why Straffon and other Michigan prospectors are working with the DNR to update prospecting rules, which have been stagnant for five years.
"What we're doing is we're trying to get the rules changed to include dredging in the state of Michigan," Straffon said. "These rules that we're operating under now ... aren't very practical, for us anyway."
While Straffon is fairly new to the dance with the DNR, GPAA Member Barry Anderson has been at it for more than a decade.
"They keep moving the goal post on us," Anderson said. "We've been working with them I'd say for about 15 years now."
One thing standing in the way of prospectors, besides the laundry list of rules and regulations, are the fisheries, but Straffon is being proactive in his approach. Currently, DNR regulations state that there is no prospecting of any kind allowed in designated trout streams, natural river, natural areas or areas where stream mussel beds are known to occur.
In late April, Straffon met with two prominent trout fishing organizations, including Trout Unlimited, to dispel any misconceptions about prospecting, and specifically dredging, as Straffon hopes to include dredging in updated prospecting regulations.
"Most of these guys don't know the first thing about us. They just hear bad things, and we want to set the record straight," Straffon said. "If you take the 500 prospectors (in the state of Michigan) and the 5,000 miles of trout streams — with a shovel we can't really dig very much, and they're all up [in arms] about us destroying their environment."
Straffon and Anderson are using the scientific research conducted by various states as well as situations they have seen in person to demonstrate that no prospecting — not even dredging — harms fish.
Evidence just down the road at the GPAA Swank Claim in Ohio supports the science that dredging actually creates fish habitat.
"They were planting trout in there until we started dredging in there. Now the trout are reproducing in that section of river that we've been dredging for about 10 years," Anderson said. "They couldn't figure out why the trout were reproducing once we started dredging; it's because we took a dead stream and turned it into a live stream."
Anderson, who calls his pack of fellow dredgers the "Dredge Monkeys," said they are just as interested in maintaining a healthy environment as the fisheries.
"What we're trying to do is we're trying to get them to give us rules similar to Ohio or Indiana ... where you can dredge with a four-inch dredge," Anderson said. "Nobody can come in with a backhoe and start doing stuff. It's what we're trying to get them to understand; we want to improve the environment as much as they do."
Like other small-scale suction dredge miners across the country, Anderson is pulling pounds of lead from rivers and streams.
"I've given demonstrations with the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) and they didn't have a problem. They check out the turbidity coming out the back of the dredge and we explained to them all the garbage we take out," Anderson said.
Not only does he clean up the rivers, but Anderson has created a way for his dredge to run off of propane instead of gas, to ensure that no gas is leaked into waterways — this tends to be another point of contention among environmentalists.
Though the DNR states that dredging is not permitted, permits are available through other channels in certain areas, but they are very hard to come across, Anderson said. The Drain Commission Authority out of Athens, Mich., has given Anderson his only permit.
As for that half-ounce a year? It's not gonna cut it for Anderson's small-scale dredging expenses.
"We'll go down on a weekend, and you're dropping $2,000 to $3,000," Anderson said. "It'd be nice to have the money here."
Anderson said he would prefer to drop his dime in his own state instead of having to take his cold, hard cash to neighboring states like Ohio and Indiana, which allow small-scale suction dredging.
Ultimately, Straffon would like to see a prospecting license established, much like that of a hunting or fishing license. He agrees that there must be structure, but said the current restrictions are excessive.
"We have three different sets of rules in the state for gold prospectors," Straffon said. "We're being regulated by three different sets of rules and we've only got 500 people prospecting and a lot of them are kids. It's overkill."
Anderson said getting all these agencies to agree and sign off is like "herding cats."
Straffon is hoping their interaction and coordination with local legislators will move the cause along. He has briefed state Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-Lapeer and St. Clair counties, as well as state Rep. Dan Lauwers, a Republican from District 81, and state Rep. Andrea LaFontaine, a Republican from District 32. LaFontaine is also the 2013-14 chair for the state House Natural Resources Committee.
"I've met with all three of them and I'm pretty sure they all agree with me," Straffon said. "If for some reason the DNR wants to drag their feet or something I'm going to be asking our legislators to talk to the DNR chief and speed up the process."
Sarah Reijonen is a freelance writer based in California. She can be reached at sarahreijonen@yahoo.com.
CONTACT MICHIGAN LEGISLATORS
For a complete list of Michigan legislators, go to the following website: www.legislature.mi.gov.
- Sen. Phil Pavlov, R, 25th State Senate District, Lapeer and St. Clair Counties, Phone: 517-373-7708
- Dan Lauwers, R, House of Representatives, District 81, Phone: 517-373-1790, Email: DanLauwers@house.mi.gov
- Andrea LaFontaine, R, House of Representatives, District 32, Phone: 517- 373-8931, Email: AndreaLaFontaine@house.mi.gov
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